Gaming, or sports of chance, have long intrigued and enticed the general public. Indeed, despite the higher probability of losing than winning, gaming is popular and includes simple single play events, such as a flip of a coin, to multi-play events, such as a football pool for a series of championship games.
One popular gaming device is the slot machine. A slot machine requires one, two, three or more coins or tokens to be inserted or credits to be used. Once the coins are inserted, a lever arm of push button is actuated which spins a plurality of reels, typically three, wherein each reel has various symbols on its face. The reels spin for a given period of time and stop. When the reels stop, a symbol for each reel is displayed in the view window of the slot machine. Depending upon the combination of symbols that align in a line, a predetermined payout, if any, is ascertained. As only a limited number of winning combinations exist, in many instances, no payout is provided for the combination of symbols that results from the actuation of the lever arm. Thus, it is possible that a participant could play for an extended period of time and not win. As most participants desire to win, rather than lose, the longer the time period played without a win, the less likely it will be to maintain the participant's interest or participation.
Attempts have been made to provide some assurance of a win for the participants. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,390 to Okada is directed to providing insurance to the participant. In the '390 reference, if the participant chooses to accept insurance, an insurance period is effectuated. During the insurance period, the total amount wagered by the participant, or the number of games played, is accumulated. If the user fails to win during the insurance period, when the accumulated value or number of games reach a predetermined amount, a predetermined value of insurance is paid out and the insurance period ends. Thus, the insurance amount can offset the loss suffered by the participant. Nonetheless, the participant must initially pay for the insurance for this aspect of the game to be activated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,785 to Okada is directed to a game utilizing a win judgment table. The table stores winning information corresponding to each integer in a set of integers. A selected integer, which is assigned to a special win is located at the end of the set of integers. In the '785 reference, a random integer is sampled in the first game and a win judgment is based on this random integer. In subsequent games the sampled integer is incremented and the integer resulting from the incrementation of the sampled integer is used for the new game. This step is repeated until the integer resulting from incrementation is the selected integer, where the special win will occur. Although this method is directed towards effectuating a special win, there is no defined time frame under which a special win will occur.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,781 to Wood et al. is directed to a gaming system wherein a participant is offered an award prior to the completion of the game. If the participant accepts the reward, the game is terminated. If the participant does not accept the award, the participant risks losing any winnings at all.
Although the above systems attempt to provide some assurances for the participant to recapture some of their wager, none of the systems guarantee a win during a predefined time frame or predefined number of games. Further, none of the current systems allow a player to forego the acceptance of a guaranteed win for the opportunity to attain a large guaranteed win amount. A need exists in the industry for a system that guarantees a win in a specified time period or after a predetermined number of games. A further need exists for a system that allows the participant to forego a guaranteed win in exchange for an opportunity to win a higher guaranteed amount.